Incident Overview
On the day of the accident, the airplane departed Las Vegas, Nevada, at approximately 0919, operating under an IFR flight plan to Midland, Texas. The pilot initially climbed to 13,000 feet.
Flight Progress
At 1005, the pilot contacted Albuquerque ARTCC (ZAB) and reported level at 13,000 feet. At 1009, he requested and received clearance to climb to 15,000 feet. At 1013:55, the pilot contacted Albuquerque Flight Watch, stating he was about 23 miles west of Flagstaff, Arizona, at 15,000 feet and had encountered "light mixed icing" approximately 20 miles west of his position at 13,000 feet. He requested any pilot reports (PIREPs). Flight Watch informed him of a PIREP reporting trace rime icing at 12,000 feet from an airplane climbing westbound out of Albuquerque. The pilot acknowledged and asked for weather across New Mexico. Flight Watch advised him to stand by.
Communications and Descent
At 1015:15, the pilot contacted ZAB, reporting "getting...mixed...right...now," and requested to climb to 17,000 feet. At 1015:57, the controller cleared the airplane to 17,000 feet. At 1016:35, the Flight Watch specialist repeated the trace icing report near Albuquerque, but the pilot did not respond. ZAB radar showed the airplane climbed to 15,200 feet then entered a rapid descent. A broken transmission was received at 1017:08, and no further communications were received. Radar contact was lost at 1017:20.
Wreckage Examination
Examination of the airplane wreckage revealed no anomalies.
Probable Cause
The probable cause, as determined by the official investigation, was the pilot's improper in-flight planning/decision making, his flight into known icing conditions, and his failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in the inadvertent stall/spin and impact with terrain. Factors contributing to the accident were the pilot's improper pre-flight planning/preparation, the icing conditions, and the inadvertent stall/spin.